A Roseville man scammed out of something both valuable and sentimental during a disturbingly bold scam at a Walmart store is urging Macomb County seniors to be on high guard.

“I took my mother to the store at 12 Mile and Gratiot Avenue,” said the victim. “I dropped her off and drove down to the garden center and was walking into the store when someone behind me started yelling, ‘Hey, hey.’ I turned around thinking it was someone I knew.”

What he saw instead was a black vehicle, possibly a van or SUV, that had pulled up next to him. When he turned around to see who it was the driver tossed him something out of the window, which the victim caught.

It was a heavy gold ring.

“I knew it had to be lead because real gold would never be that heavy,” said the victim, who was then told by the driver he could keep the ring if he gave him cash to buy gas for his vehicle.

“I told him I don’t carry any cash. I only carry a debit card,” said the elderly victim. “Then he told me, ‘Give me back my ring.’”

So he did.

It was then he noticed a female sitting in the vehicle behind the passenger seat.

“That didn’t sit well with me, so when I got home I called the police,” he said.

After he filled out the report and the police left, the victim’s neighbors asked about what happened. So, he proceeded to tell them the same story, only this time while he was acting out how he reached into the vehicle to give the driver back his ring he noticed his bracelet was gone.

“It was an anchor link 14 karat gold bracelet that I’ve been wearing since high school. It was a graduation gift from my parents,” said the 61-year-old victim. “I didn’t know it was gone until I reenacted the situation.”

He called the police back and they returned to update the report.

“I wanted them to know because they could try to do it to another senior who might be old school and does carry cash,” said the senior and elementary school teacher working to create awareness among older adults.

The Michigan numbers

Awareness is a key element to combatting crimes against the elderly whose population in Michigan will soon make its demographic one of the top 10 states with the highest aging population, according to Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Adult Protective Services (APS) Annual Report for 2024 (Oct. 23- Sept. 24).

Among the statistics reported by APS were the number of elder abuse cases referred and investigated in 2024:

These included:

• 57,504 new referrals: A referral is an allegation or a report by someone suspecting abuse, neglect or exploitation of vulnerable adults.

• 36,367 of these new referrals were denied. A referral is denied if any of the three components are not present: the individual is not an adult, if the individual is not vulnerable or if the referral does not involve abuse, neglect or exploitation.

• 21,137 new referrals were assigned for an investigation: During the course of an investigation an APS worker will determine if the adult was abused, neglected or exploited.

• 8,596 or 41% of the investigations resulted in a substantiation. A substantiated investigation is a situation in which the worker determines the vulnerable adult has been harmed due to abuse, neglect or exploitation.

Michigan tracks important demographic information on APS clients including age, gender and race. According to the report the age of older adults involved in substantiated investigations included:

• 668 cases between the ages of 46-55

• 1,525, between 56-65

• 2,182, between 66-75

• 2,186, between 76-85

• 683, 86-95• 50, who were age 90 and older

The gender of the substantiated reports included 4,637 females and 3,927 males.

The race of victims involved in substantiated investigations of abuse, neglect or exploitation in 2024 included:

• Alaskan/Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 2

• American Indian: 34

• Asian: 31

• Black: 1,604

• White: 5,752

• Hispanic/Latino: 89

• Two or more races: 12

• Unknown: 1,071

Under Michigan law it is mandatory for health care, social welfare, mental health, law enforcement, and other human services providers to report suspicions of vulnerable adult abuse, neglect or exploitation to Adult Protective Services. However, anyone suspecting that a vulnerable adult is being victimized may report his or her suspicions to APS unit of the Department of Human Services by calling 855-444-3911, 24-hours a day, 7-days a week.

Of the cases reported to APS most came from medical professionals (2,981). Other referrals come from professional agency staff (2,388), relatives (1,114), law enforcement (693), financial institution/professionals, 283, self (156) and 153 anonymous tips.

In Macomb County the Senior Crimes Unit with the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office reported that in 2024:

• 917 individuals, aged 60 or older, received services from the MCPO Senior Crime Victims Unit with 635 coming since January 2025

• 140 crimes against seniors, age 65 or older, were charged by the MCPO Senior Crimes and Consumer Protection Unit. Since January 2025, 21 crimes against seniors, ages 65 or older, have been prosecuted by the office.

Combatting elder abuse

“We need to be proactive not reactive,” said Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido, who established the Senior Crimes Unit and has led more than 180 presentations aimed at preventing crimes against seniors. His initiatives to combat elder abuse include publishing a free guide, “S.C.A.M.S.: Stopping Crimes Against Macomb Seniors,” that’s been distributed to agencies and business offices throughout the county.

His office Friday also released a “Scam Alert.”

It was not related to elder abuse but a recent crime victim, who called the MCPO Victims Rights Unit after receiving a suspicious call. The scammer claimed to be affiliated with law enforcement and demanded the crime victim to pay him through the online financial service PayPal to ensure protection against the perpetrator awaiting trial. He said it was needed in order to place a tracking tether on the defendant.

“We told this crime victim rest assured that she did not need to do anything to be fully protected,” said Lucido, whose office has been investigating a wave of fraudulent calls targeting area residents, made by scammers impersonating jail staff, court officials or law enforcement officers. However, since there was no way they could email every crime victim he issued the alert.

“We got to get it out there to the media and social networks,” Lucido said, adding he plans to issue scam alerts more frequently in the future including those aimed at seniors. “If there’s a scam going on in Richmond or Mount Clemens we can be used as the host of scam alerts.”

Being more alert

This year marks the sixth anniversary of the Elder Abuse Task Force, which has united more than 55 different organizations in the public, private and nonprofit sectors since its founding in 2019.

“Over the past six years, the Elder Abuse Task Force has played a crucial role in raising public awareness about equipping communities with the tools to identify and prevent elder abuse,” said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, in a news release. “I am incredibly proud of the Task Force’s work — from successfully advocating for stronger legal protections to publishing best practices for investigating elder abuse allegations and holding abusers accountable.”

“But there is still more work to do,” she added. “We will continue to push for long-overdue reforms to ensure every Michigander is treated with dignity and respect.”

Achievements so far include the adoption of a Vulnerable Adult Incident Report for investigations by law enforcement across the state, including the implementation of related training.

Attending one such training was Sheila Cote.

As the Office of Senior Services Director, Cote and other members of the Macomb County Elder Abuse Task Force received a grant from the Department of Justice in partnership with the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL) aimed at improving elder abuse investigations, reporting and prosecuting exploitation, abuse and neglect of older adults. The county’s team includes: Jeremiah Orvelo, a detective with Sterling Heights police; Emily Shankie, project coordinator with the Office of Senior Service; Danielle Strace, assistant prosecutor; Sara Dobbyn, chief engagement and education officer for Turning Point; Sgt. Tim La Friniere with the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office; and Bryce Moon, with Warren police.

One of the most important points Cote remembers about the training is that not everything is as it seems.

“As officers go into investigate cases involving seniors they need to keep their eyes open for clues that might relate to the person’s death,” Cote said. “Don’t just assume the person died of old age.”

One case example was that of a woman, who was under the care of her son. He reported her death and when officers arrived he had the sheet pulled up over her body. One might assume it was out of respect or grief but an officer on the scene who wanted to take photos pulled the sheet back and discovered a skeletal body covered with bruises. She was allegedly killed by the son who planned on having her cremated. Had the officer not taken photos there would have been no proof of her abuse.

“I think that we have to do a better job at recognizing abuse and recording it,” Cote said. “Only one out of every 24 cases are actually reported and over 60% of those are caregivers or family members.”

The Social Welfare Act makes it mandatory for certain professions such as those employed by a nursing home or hospital, mental health or human services to report any suspicions regarding vulnerable adults who they believe have been harmed or are at risk of harm from abuse, neglect or exploitation.

The Michigan Financial Exploitation Prevention Act also mandates bank and credit union employees in Michigan to report suspected financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult to law enforcement and APS.

That’s not the case for private citizens who own apartments or independent living facilities.

“I was abused and didn’t even know the lady who was doing it,” said Shirley Cook, who served in the United States Army and took an early retirement from her career as a medical secretary in order to care for her ailing mother.

“I didn’t want her to go into a home,” she said, and being she had the medical background was able to provide her mother with the care she needed in order to live out her days comfortably at home.

That’s what Cook wanted for herself.

But that was not the case.

One morning she woke up to find her heat turned off and her hands turning blue. Another time she suspected that someone had taken money out of her bank account, using her debit card.

After several attempts to report the suspected abuse and no response, Cook decided to advocate for herself.

This led her to discover the Office of Senior Services.

“I think that’s one of the problems,” Cook said. “Seniors don’t know how to work the system and are unable to get the help they need.”

She did and after many calls and queries was assigned a case worker.

“That’s when I met Jennifer,” Cook said, of Jennifer Wilczek, a lead case manager with the Office of Senior Services. “This lady has been my angel.”

After talking with Cook, Wilczek was able to help her move to a new senior living facility in Clinton Township.

“She’s been very happy living here but there’s been a few incidents,” Wilczek said. One such incident happened during the interview for this article. Another woman from another apartment, with a key, opened her door and was about to enter when Cook hollered for her to leave.

“See what I mean. How can I feel safe when that happens,” Cook said.

“I want to see mandatory reports for these adult and independent living centers,” Lucido said. “They should not be any different than anywhere else. When someone does something criminal we have an obligation to report it.”